When

It is just so easy,
To question who you are,
One moment everything comes up roses,
And nowhere is too far,

It seems the world is open up to you,
People want you to win,
Though you don't now, you will have success soon,
You deserve it after much exertion,

Then the next moment when nothing has changed,
You start to look around,
Nothing's been handed to you, as of yet,
No one's making a sound,

You ask yourself,
When will you get your due,
You cannot help repeating to yourself,
Somebody somewhere must owe it to you

Stay Safe

They make it sound easy,
This thing they call success,
Take what you've been given for being born,
And risk it for a guess,

In a way, this would always be the case,
'fyou want to change your life,
Look around at what it is that you have,
Then be prepared to trade it all for strife,

With the possibility of your dreams,
Finally coming true,
Which, in the end, are never what you hoped,
But what else can you do?

Nothing at all?
Yes, that is an option,
Assume that the reward's not worth the risk,
Stay comfortable in the skin you're in.

Which Is It?

If I push you forward,
Do you fall on your face,
Or do you succeed where you might have failed,
Had you stayed in your place?

Now, what if instead I'm pulling you back,
By the scruff of your neck?
Is it because I'm jealous of your luck,
Or saving you from a terrible wreck?

Each case can be interpreted both ways,
Just like in scheduling,
Push a meeting back or pull it forward,
What does it really mean?

Just make a choice,
Stick to it to the end,
People may misunderstand you a while,
But consistency will be recompensed.

Reaching

Savor ev'ry moment,
Of this uncertainty,
That waning self-confidence that you have,
In your ability,

Look around at the world you inhabit,
Its lack of vividness,
Assembled by your underactive brain,
Deceived into remaining languorous,

Not by satisfaction, but by your fear,
Of failing to achieve,
Isn't it best to keep your dreams out there,
Than try and not succeed?

Some do say that,
Then live until they die,
That drab half of a world's there if you want,
If for the best one you'd rather not try.

Steady The Boat

Everything is close,
Waiting to be dealt with,
Some things you put off because it's not time,
As if it ever is,

But why not put off until you are dead,
What you could do today?
So much has happened that will never change,
It's not your place to propose other ways,

Just keep things the way they have always been,
I've already said that,
If you try to change the way things e'er've been,
You will not enjoy that,

So don't e'en try,
Aren't things great as is?
Let's discuss this again another day,
Meanwhile, just ignore time as it passes.

One Life

There are complications,
With which life is imbued,
What you known, have learned, know you've learned is right,
The angle those are viewed,

How others can influence what you do,
For reasons of their own,
Trying to keep near what's loved, far what's not,
Hoping to god you are not left alone,

Praying that instead that you're raised to great heights,
One above ev'ryone,
For whatever it is you feel you do,
That's your contribution,

If you have one,
It's hard to figure out,
Then if you do, I hope you are allowed,
For many reasons, that may be in doubt.

Grounded

I just realized something,
Amidst all of my thoughts,
While looking through my dad's ephemera,
With eyes that have seen lots,

Held by hands that have been used for many tasks,
Mostly with the same things,
With aims remaining in the narrow scope,
Of a world mostly premade for me,

Preoccupied by fleeting happenstance,
Nothing lasts very long,
Least of all the life any of us have,
Regardless of how strong,

We all forget,
Lost among diversions,
I'll never let go my father's affairs,
Despite all that hence will therefor be gone.

Take The Time

You are not your father,
Your mother, you are not,
You’re not the expectations laid on you,
That should not be your lot,

You’re not the words that you spoke yesterday,
Conjure them if you are,
You’re not your reactions to tragedy,
Or your own children or even your car,

You’re not the guilt for any of these things,
Or product of the past,
Nor an expression of what’s yet to come,
The future doesn’t last,

You’re who you are,
Who’s reading this right now,
It’s not a question of learning that truth,
It’s a matter of figuring out how.

Our Fate

When will it get started,
This thing that we call life,
Preparing from the time that we are born,
For misfortune and strife,

By people who haven’t figured it out,
Not those who did raise them?
Some say the fate of humans is sorrow,
Forever seeking out success and friends,

Never satisfied with what we do get,
E’er comparing to Jones,
Judging self-worth by what others attain,
Ignoring the forlorn,

For they’re failures,
Too lazy to succeed,
Until we find ourselves in the same boat,
Then we find others to judge in more need.

Getting What You Want

You cannot move forward,
If you’re stuck in the past,
If you see no reason to change your ways,
Or if you are an ass,

If you’re so happy you’ve nowhere to go,
That wouldn’t bring you down,
Until perhaps the narcotics wear off,
Or the factory closes in your town,

If you have no faith in evolution,
That things can change at all,
Ev’ryone stuck with their own lot in life,
Whether they rise or fall.

But if you do,
Have hopes beyond the now,
That reality is waiting for you,
When you stop asking yourself if, but how.

Close Your Eyes

We can all close our eyes,
No matter where we are,
Fill ourselves with the silence of our minds,
Amidst the trains and cars,

The constant droning of our daily fears,
Served fresh on the news feeds,
Look left or right, the outcome is the same,
The grass on the other side e’er needs seeds,

The agendas of ev’ryone you meet,
Paranoia’s legit,
If you don’t know who you are in this world,
You’ll be a piece of shit,

No, keep them closed,
We are not quite done, yet,
Don’t stop until you’re completely alone,
You want to re-enter the world, I bet.

Good Fortune

It’s the Chinese New Year,
Don’t know much about it,
I had some dumplings which should bring money,
I’m sure that is legit,

The year of the pig is ‘bout fortune, too,
I’m doing all I can,
In the spring I’ll be chasing each rainbow,
I wish for bird shit to drop where I stand,

Nothing is off the table from now on,
I have nothing to lose,
Like mom said doing nothing’s not a choice,
I have no time to choose,

So bring it on,
Before I’m on the streets,
If riches aren’t in my horoscope,
I’m off to start collecting rabbit feet.

No Matter What

No matter what happens,
Compared to what you want,
Disappointment, dreams come true, accolades,
Or a hist’ry that haunts,

 Or what’s more likely, the whole trifecta,
With prob’lly more thrown in,
Life is long, no matter how it might feel,
Or even if it’s short in duration,

 What will always be under your control,
Is how you look at it,
Though depending on how you were brought up,
You may think me a git.

Maybe I am,
Rather, I am for you,
Plus anyone else who has been in pain,
Minus my mom, who was dying and knew.

Rebel

If you want to be pinged,
You can't hide in a hole,
Asking yourself why you are so alone,
Despite your pretty soul,

You're one of many who wants to connect,
But want to wait for it,
A billion catchers waiting at home plate,
With nary anyone ready to pitch,

Put yourself out there, to use a cliché,
Or simply speak the truth,
That you should have no fear of who you are,
Is known early in youth.

You're born with it,
So why do we forget?
A custom of punishing honesty,
When it's different from what your parents said.

Who You Are

It's not about effort,
Though you need that for sure,
Connections help, but those you'll never get,
Without intentions pure,

A leg up's something you should not sneeze at,
You can't make it without,
This world exists and you must live in it,
Which means acceptance is a must, no doubt,

Still, all these things mean nothing in the end,
With nothing to bind to,
A thing that knows exactly what it is,
Is rarer than the truth,

So, is that you?
Do you know what I mean?
Defining what you see by who you are,
Not self-defined according to what's seen.

When You Are Old

When you get much older,
Let us pray that you do,
The types of goals reserved for younger ones,
Far out of your purview,

The concrete of your youth set long ago,
In fact, begins to crack,
Views you’re embarrassed to bring back to mind,
Experiences you wish to get back,

How will you feel about this museum,
Will it be just for you?
Cluttered, petty, irrelevant to most,
Perspectives barely true,

Or will you bask,
In its grand uniqueness,
The embrace of a quest thrust upon you,
Shining your truth despite life’s pettiness.

Improvisation for Peace

Let's improvise our life,
No suggestions are wrong,
That don't deny anyone's existence,
That has gone on too long,

For to be tall or short, skinny or fat,
Or any other thing,
Is a product of the combination,
Of one's environment and of one's genes,

Neither of which are in anyone's scope,
To change circumstance,
You may as well fault the rose for blooming,
Or the drag queens who dance,

Maybe it's greed,
That promotes our conflict,
But to improvise is to be selfless,
So that one's own fate can never be picked.

The Truth Inside

I forgot you were there,
Looking down upon me,
Symbolizing my most devilish parts,
Though, subliminally,

Like everything you don’t want to face,
Just shred it and forget,
Then, when it regenerates and returns,
Push it back down and then never fret it,

For what are we if not made to deny,
What is in all of us?
We propose ideal worlds for which to strive,
That are not serious,

We all know it,
They are repression tools,
Both, to forget the devil inside us,
And to control us as ignorant fools.

Embrace Yourself

Find what most distracts you,
With joyousness and bliss,
Fill your time with that as much as you can,
And I promise you this,

Serendipity with then follow you,
But that’s just a symptom,
Of your embracing of the skin you’re in,
Born of pure chance, not any intention,

Time will fly and stop simultanyusly,
All space will by your world,
Your words will be pure, your actions graceful,
Your greatness will unfurl,

We all have it,
That jewel inside us,
The error that hides it behind closed eyes,
Is the belief that life’s mysterious.

The Precarious Journey

It's easy to get down,
Both micro and macro,
Life can be so hard just as it is,
With naught to bring you low,

Add the things you have no control over,
Your upbringing forsooth,
Economic woes, emotional pains,
All before you lose your last baby tooth,

Then simple accidents can change your life,
Before revolution,
Ocean levels rising midst hurricanes,
Who do we e'en function?

It's mostly luck,
But love's a must also,
The kind that proves that other hearts exist,
Even in those people you may not know.